Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to Lakers may no longer be worst move in NBA history

The Los Angeles Clippers are in a little bit of a pickle. Pablo Torre has released a few different reports of the team possibly circumventing the cap rules in order to sign star forward Kawhi Leonard in the 2019 offseason by signing him to a highly endorsed deal through Aspiration, a sort of digital bank that few people had heard of prior to this.

There are some eyebrow-raising finds in Torre's reports, including how Leonard was sitting out due to knee injuries, he got a deposit from Aspiration that he believed was late, and then he was magically playing soon after that. And somehow, NBA personality Bill Simmons has found a way to compare this situation to the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis back in February.

Will the Clippers' Kawhi Leonard signing go down as one of the most damaging NBA transactions? pic.twitter.com/TBP0k34tHo
— The Ringer (@ringer) September 19, 2025

“The entire thing of going into business with [Leonard], all the stuff that costs them, all the players in the draft picks, plus this scandal, it has to be the most damaging transaction in the history of the league," Simmons started. "I don't even think you could compare it to anything... It's already retroactively one of the worst trades of all time."

His podcast co-host for the night, Joe House, disagreed and went with the Luka Doncic trade, but Simmons countered. "[The Mavericks] end up with Cooper Flagg. In a roundabout way, it somehow worked out. Just forget all the dumb reasons behind the trade. Would you trade Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg for Luka?"

House still vehemently denied it, but there are cases to be made for each transaction to be the worst.

Apr 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) stand on the floor during the first quarter of game two of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Re-visiting Mavericks Trading Luka and Clippers acquiring Kawhi Leonard

Dallas trading Doncic will forever be one of the most confusing moves in NBA history, especially for the minimal return they got: Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and just one future first-round pick. It's a trade that baffled the NBA, and continues to be the talk of the league now that Doncic has signed a three-year extension with the Lakers and looks to be in the best shape of his career.

Although the Clippers didn't trade for Kawhi Leonard, they did have to trade for Paul George in order to land Leonard. And they gave up a HAUL for George: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five future first-round picks, and two first-round pick swaps. With those first-round picks, the Thunder drafted Jalen Williams and Tre Mann, while a few have yet to convey. And the trade could look even worse if they're penalized for this cap circumvention.

The Clippers helped build a potential Thunder destiny, while the Mavericks severely shortened their title window with their trade. Getting Cooper Flagg doesn't make the trade any better or worse as it had nothing to do with the trade itself; the Mavericks just got lucky that their franchise had a potential savior.

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